How The Club Café transformed one young man’s future through Inclusive Employment
The Club Café’s inclusive recruitment story demonstrates how embracing neurodiversity in the workplace can enhance your workforce, bringing characteristics and skill sets to the team that benefit the business as a whole.
The Breakfast Club Chelmsford, now operating as The Club Café is part of a well-known restaurant chain, with most of its locations based in London. The brand is celebrated for its eclectic ’80s-inspired décor, retro memorabilia, great music, and warm, welcoming atmosphere.
Aware of the opening of the new Chelmsford branch, ECL’s Inclusive Employment Consultant, Caroline Giess reached out the HR leads at the Breakfast Club chain with one candidate in mind – Cameron who, is neurodiverse and was looking for to part-time hospitality work, close to home so that he could travel independently. As the café was just a 10-minute walk from his house she felt that it could be the ideal opportunity for him.
The team at the Breakfast Club were open to offering opportunities to neurodiverse people and so Caroline organised work experience for Cameron at the new branch - just four hours a week over a month, to give him the chance to ease into the role, build confidence, and demonstrate his potential to the team at The Club Café.
General Manager Chiara did not have previous experience working with neurodiverse individuals and so the work experience also enabled her to get a feel for how best to support Cameron. She quickly recognised his potential; through the passion and commitment he brought to everything he did at work. Although there were no permanent vacancies, she didn’t want to lose him, so created a paid role for him, starting with four hours a week as a Kitchen Porter.
Although teaching and coaching Cameron presented challenges at times, we ultimately achieved success together. Day by day, he grew in confidence and developed into a valuable asset to the team.
Chiara, The Breakfast Club General Manager
Inclusive Employment Consultant, Caroline was on hand to coach both Cameron and Chiara as they navigated this new territory, supporting both parties to make sure that Cameron’s transition to work went smoothly.
Chiara said: “ECL supported us from the very beginning with Cameron’s induction process and all necessary administrative requirements. They have continued to check in regularly to ensure that both Cameron and our business feel fully supported. The team has been professional, proactive, and consistently willing to offer additional guidance or coaching when needed. Their ongoing involvement has made the process smooth, reassuring, and highly successful.
“Cameron has settled in exceptionally well and is meeting, and often exceeding, the expectations of his role. Cameron is punctual and dependable, consistently demonstrating a strong work ethic. He works collaboratively with colleagues across all areas of the business and maintains positive working relationships. He is well liked by the team, and his willingness to help and positive energy make him a pleasure to work with.”
Now Cameron works an average of four days per week and no longer needs Caroline’s support. He is thriving, loving his work and has proven to be a huge asset to the team.
Chiara states: “Cameron is extremely flexible. Whenever he is available, he is willing to come in at very short notice to support the team. Our industry can be unpredictable, with sudden periods of high demand, and Cameron consistently steps up whenever needed. His reliability, positive attitude, and team spirit make a real difference to the business.”
I would strongly encourage other employers to consider employing individuals from ECL’s Inclusive Employment programme. It has been an extremely positive experience for our business.
Chiara, General Manager, The Breakfast Club
From having no experience of working with people with learning disabilities and/or autism, Chiara is now an advocate of inclusive employment and encourages other businesses in the area to consider it.
She says: “I would strongly encourage other employers to consider employing individuals from ECL’s Inclusive Employment programme. It has been an extremely positive experience for our business, and I would wholeheartedly recommend it. The programme has provided us with a dedicated and capable employee while also bringing diversity, resilience, and a fresh perspective to our workplace. It has had a meaningful and lasting positive impact on our team culture and reinforced the importance of inclusion within our organisation.”
The Club Café’s inclusive recruitment story demonstrates how embracing neurodiversity in the workplace can enhance your workforce, bringing characteristics and skillsets to the team that benefit the business as a whole.